Gearing up for the elections

The CLA's Political Action Task Force has prepared positions and tactics for the library community in anticipation of the next Canadian federal election. In their statement, they assert that "The next federal election, expected this year, is an excellent opportunity to improve the quality of Canadian policy debate and information about the important role libraries play in the nation's success." Check out the issues they've identified and the resources they've collected to help you get started in your library.

April 27, 2004

Radical bookstore destroyed!

Spartacus books, Vancouver's collectively-run, non-profit, radical bookstore, has been destroyed by fire. This bookstore, had been in operation for over 30 years and was a critical part of the Vancouver activist and radical communities. Please contact Peter Garden from Turning the Tide Bookstore in Saskatchewan for donations to help rebuild.

source: CDNAct-listserv

April 26, 2004

Librarians Say No to Occupation!

Librarians for Peace would like librarians to reaffirm last year's petition "Stop the War Now!" through this new petition to end the occupation in Iraq.

source: PLGNet-L

April 25, 2004

Changing the world one page at a time

Gail Cerridwen is behind a new a new progressive young adults press: Word Warriors Press. Cerridwen wants to give voice to the stories and the people who are not usually represented in mainstream publications. She is looking for like-minded progressive librarians to review their books and buy them for their library's collection. Any help would be appreciated!

April 21, 2004

Information Rights Week

Information Rights Week is an annual activity of the Canadian Library Association (CLA) to bring attention to the importance of information policy in Canadian life. Mr. Derek Lee, M.P. for Scarborough Rouge River, issued a statement in the House of Commons on April 20th about this CLA activity.

April 9, 2004

United Talmud Torah donations

To make donations (books or money) to the Montreal school library that was fire bombed on April 5:

United Talmud Torah
2205 de L’Eglise
St. Laurent, Quebec
H4M 1G5
Attention: Library Fund
Tel: 514-748-4566

Alternatively, the Québec Libary Association is donating part of the funds from their 2004 conference to the school.

April 6, 2004

School library destruction in Montreal

In response to the April 5th Jewish school library destruction in Montreal, the online journal School Libraries in Canada (Journal of the Canadian School Library Association) is organizing a special issue for, ideally, May 1st. If interested in submitting a contribution (articles, thought pieces, letters, etc.), please contact Toni Samek.

source: PLGNet-L

CLA / BCLA 2004 Conference

The conference schedule is out. Here are some presentations worth seeing:

The WTO-TRIPS Agreement and its Impact on Library Services, by Myra Tawfik of University of Windsor (June 17)
International Trade Issues, with Sam Trosow, Chair of the CLA International Trade Committee (June 17)
Whose Media? Media Activism and Libraries, sponsored by the BCLA Information Policy Committee (June 18)
Privacy: A Value Worth Sharing, with a great group of panelists (June 19)

April 5, 2004

McGill QPIRG library offers alternative research

Looking for socially progressive resources? The library at the McGill University branch of the Québec Public Interest Research Group (QPIRG) is your place. By June, the library will have an online database to search its collection.

source: McGill Daily

April 2, 2004

IMF heaps praise on Canada

According to a Finance Canada Press Release, the International Monetary Fund gives a strong endorsement of Canada's economic, fiscal and monetary policies. The IMF concludes that Canada has "considerable success" in fiscal management.

source: Canadian Activist Network listserv(CDNAct)

Severe erosion of funding for school libraries in Canada

On a related note, both funding and teacher-librarians are scarce in Canadian school libraries. According to the Canadian Press NewsWire (Nov 11, 2003),

The Québec Education Department allocates only $3.75 per student for the purchase of books for school libraries, said Jocelyne Dion, president of the Coalition for School Libraries. That's a pittance considering the average price of an elementary-level book in Québec is $17, she said. In 1992, there were about 140 trained librarians and library technicians in Québec but only about 40 remain, said Dion.

Little pieces of heaven in hell

...And then something like this comes along to bring a little perspective on the struggles of librarians and libraries everywhere: a very nice article by Ghada Elturk on Palestinian Libraries.

source: PLGNet-L

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